Decellularized Articular Cartilage Microgels as Microcarriers for Expansion of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

Conventional microcarriers used for expansion of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) require detachment and separation of the cells from the carrier prior to use in clinical applications for regeneration of articular cartilage, and the carrier can cause undesirable phenotypic changes in the expanded cells. This work describes a novel approach to expand hMSCs on biomimetic carriers based on adult or fetal decellularized bovine articular cartilage that supports tissue regeneration without the need to detach the expanded cells from the carrier. In this approach, the fetal or adult bovine articular cartilage was minced, decellularized, freeze-dried, ground, and sieved to produce articular cartilage microgels (CMGs) in a specified size range. Next, the hMSCs were expanded on CMGs in a bioreactor in basal medium to generate hMSC-loaded CMG microgels (CMG-MSCs). Then, the CMG-MSCs were suspended in sodium alginate, injected in a mold, crosslinked with calcium chloride, and incubated in chondrogenic medium as an injectable cellular construct for regeneration of articular cartilage. The expression of chondrogenic markers and compressive moduli of the injectable CMG-MSCs/alginate hydrogels incubated in chondrogenic medium were higher compared to the hMSCs directly encapsulated in alginate hydrogels.

A SEM-EDX Study on the Structure of Phenyl Phosphinic Hybrids Containing Boron and Zirconium

“…The organic–inorganic hybrid materials were already involved in many applications of great interest, such as ion-exchange and catalysis [ 11 , 29 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], photocatalysis [ 15 , 30 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 41 ], medicine, or for electrochemical devices and membranes with specific transport properties in separation and sensor technologies, or as a stationary phase in chromatography [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ]. The applications of organic–inorganic hybrid materials containing phosphorus are in general determined by their high specific surface area, from the presence of residual acidic P-OH groups and/or of the flexible organic functional groups, and from the properties of the rigid inorganic part (strongly influenced by the used metal) [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”

Advanced injectable hydrogels for cartilage tissue engineering

“…The requirements of injectable hydrogel-encapsulated cells for cartilage repair are as follows: 1) they can constitute cartilage tissue; 2) suitable for clinical application, that is, the source is vast, the trauma is minor, and the extraction is easy; 3) after many passages, they can obtain the required number of cells while maintaining the cartilage phenotype ( Kwon et al, 2019 ). Embedding cells into injectable hydrogels can be achieved by embedding cells during gel formation or by inoculating cells into prefabricated porous gels ( Armiento et al, 2018 ; Jabbari and Sepahvandi, 2022 ).…”

Editorial for Gels 6th Anniversary Special Issue

“…Conventional microcarriers used for the expansion of stem cells require the detachment and separation of the cells from the carrier prior to use in the clinic for tissue regeneration. Jabbari and Sepahvandi [6] describe a novel approach to use fetal or adult animal tissues as microcarriers for the expansion and implantation of stem cells without the need to detach the expanded cells from the carrier. In this approach, fetal or adult animal tissue is minced, decellularized, freeze-dried, ground, and sieved to produce microgels.…”